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€880 Merit Poker Cup
Day 2 Completed
2026 Merit Poker Montenegro Championship
€880 Merit Poker Cup
Day: 2
Event Info
2026 Merit Poker Montenegro Championship
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
Players Info - Day 2
Buy-in
€880
Prize Pool
€305,440
Total Entries
415
Level
28
Blinds
60,000 / 120,000
Ante
120,000
Entries
61
Players Left
9
Players Left 1 / 415
Filter
Level 21
: Blinds 10,000/20,000, 20,000 ante
Day 2 of the €880 Merit Poker Cup has wrapped up inside the Merit Royal Splendid Casino in Budva as part of the Merit Poker Montenegro Championship, and the final table is set. From a field of 415 entries, just nine players remain, all now guaranteed at least €5,790.
Italy’s Fausto Tantillo will lead the finalists into the last day after bagging 2,810,000, narrowly ahead of Mikhail Zavoloka with 2,625,000. Bojan Berberovic sits in third with 1,995,000, while the remaining stacks will have work to do as the title and the €61,000 top prize come into focus.
The final moments of the night produced a huge swing when Tantillo won a massive preflop confrontation against Berberovic, getting it in with ace-king against pocket tens and pairing his king on the flop to secure a pivotal pot that pushed him into the chip lead heading into the final table.
Final Table Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fausto Tantillo | Italy | 2,810,000 | 141 |
| 2 | Mikhail Zavoloka | Russia | 2,625,000 | 131 |
| 3 | Bojan Berberovic | Montenegro | 1,995,000 | 100 |
| 4 | Rashad Iskandarov | Azerbaijan | 1,255,000 | 63 |
| 5 | Ali Moein | Iran | 1,080,000 | 54 |
| 6 | Vladimir Lappo | Belarus | 975,000 | 49 |
| 7 | Nikolay Fal | Russia | 580,000 | 29 |
| 8 | Genrik Alekian | Ukraine | 575,000 | 29 |
| 9 | Oleksii Shchukin | Ukraine | 565,000 | 28 |
Day 2 Action
Play began with a brisk tempo as the remaining players, already in the money, looked to build stacks with the pay jumps starting to matter. Very quickly, the field was trimmed down from the 61 that returned to the three-table redraw.
Early in the push toward the final two tables, Benjamin Nicault was eliminated in 15th place after getting his chips in from the big blind with king-queen and being unable to hold against the suited queen-jack of Charbel Daou, who paired up on the river to send the Day 1c chip leader to the rail.
Berberovic continued to build as the field thinned, first eliminating Elie Farah after calling off a shove on the turn and showing a jack for trips to leave Farah drawing dead. Not long after, Berberovic picked up another key knockout when Pablo Redrado ran his short stack into pocket sevens, helping Berberovic climb toward the top of the counts.
There was no shortage of big pots away from the all-ins, with Vladimir Lappo making a sharp call against Mikhail Zavoloka after check-calling a sizeable river bet on a paired board. Zavoloka tabled an airball, while Lappo showed trips to scoop a valuable pot.
Zavoloka would later land one of the biggest doubles of the day, getting it in with pocket aces against the ace-king of Genrik Alekian and holding through to surge up the counts. The swing left Alekian short, but he managed to hang around into the later stages and ultimately found a bag for the final table.
As the tournament neared the last two tables, Bobby James was eliminated in 14th place after finding himself all in for the last of his stack against Lappo. James needed help on the river, but it didn’t arrive, ending his run after a difficult, card-dead stretch.
The run to the final table accelerated from there. Stefan Cupic exited in 13th place after getting it in with pocket sixes and falling to the ace-jack of Ali Moein, while Christoforos Chrysochoidis was soon eliminated after calling off his remaining chips and being shown a straight by Zavoloka.
The final table was confirmed after a quick burst of eliminations, with Daou falling in 11th when his pocket fives were outdrawn by Berberovic, before Erdal Gulseven was eliminated in 10th after flopping top pair but running into Zavoloka’s set of tens.
Remaining Payouts
| Place | Prize (EUR) |
|---|---|
| 1 | €61,000 |
| 2 | €42,500 |
| 3 | €29,000 |
| 4 | €20,000 |
| 5 | €15,000 |
| 6 | €12,000 |
| 7 | €9,500 |
| 8 | €7,400 |
| 9 | €5,790 |
Play resumes at 1:00 p.m. local time on Sunday, January 18, with the remaining nine players returning to battle for the €880 Merit Poker Cup title and the €61,000 top prize.
PokerNews will be on the floor for the final day, bringing you live updates and chip counts as a champion is crowned in Budva.
Level 21
: Blinds 10,000/20,000, 20,000 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
2,810,000
10,000
|
10,000 |
|
||
|
2,625,000
25,000
|
25,000 |
|
1,995,000
5,000
|
5,000 |
|
1,255,000
455,000
|
455,000 |
|
1,080,000
20,000
|
20,000 |
|
975,000
225,000
|
225,000 |
|
580,000
230,000
|
230,000 |
|
||
|
575,000
25,000
|
25,000 |
|
565,000
65,000
|
65,000 |
Level 21
: Blinds 10,000/20,000, 20,000 ante
That's a wrap on Day 2 with the final nine set to return tomorrow to play out the final table at 1 p.m.
Stay tuned for the chip counts and a recap of the day's action.
Level 21
: Blinds 10,000/20,000, 20,000 ante
Erdal Gulseven was seen walking away from his seat, with the rest of his chips going over to Mikhail Zavoloka.
The board read 10♣8♠K♥7♣ and the last of Gulseven's stack went into the pot.
Erdal Gulseven: K♦Q♠ 
Mikhail Zavoloka: 10♠10♦
Gulseven had flopped top pair, but that was no match for the set of Zavoloka. Already drawing dead, Gulseven watched the 9♥ fall on the river, ending his tournament in tenth place.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
2,600,000
200,000
|
200,000 |
|
Busted |
Level 21
: Blinds 10,000/20,000, 20,000 ante
Huge, huge pot!
Bojan Berberovic opened to 60,000 from the small blind and Fausto Tantillo three-bet the big blind to 175,000. Berberovic then responded with a four-bet to 360,000, and Tantillo five-bet shoved for 1,400,000. Berberovic called.
Fausto Tantillo: A♥K♣
Bojan Berberovic: 10♠10♥
If Berberovic could win the flip, he would go into the final table with an absolutely gigantic stack. However, that seemed unlikely as the K♥8♦9♣ flop gave Tantillo a pair of kings.
Berberovic was looking for a ten, but just missed twice as the 9♥9♠ turn and river secured the massive pot for Tantillo.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
2,800,000
1,550,000
|
1,550,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
2,000,000
1,400,000
|
1,400,000 |
Level 21
: Blinds 10,000/20,000, 20,000 ante
Charbel Daou opened to 40,000 from under the gun and was three-bet by Bojan Berberovic from the cutoff to 120,000. Daou then four-bet shoved around 500,000, and Berberovic quickly called.
Charbel Daou: 5♠5♣
Bojan Berberovic: A♠Q♦
Daou was ahead with his pair of fives, and remained in the lead through the 3♦3♥K♠ flop. However. the A♣ on the turn propelled Berberovic into the lead and left Daou with one shot at two outs.
No help arrived on the K♦ river, and Daou departed in 11th place.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
3,400,000
500,000
|
500,000 |
|
Busted | |
|
||
Level 21
: Blinds 10,000/20,000, 20,000 ante
Mikhail Zavoloka limped in from the small blind and Christoforos Chrysochoidis checked his option from the big blind.
Zavoloka bet all three streets, which ended with a river shove on the 2♣10♣9♦Q♥6♦ runout, and with around 150,000 remaining, Chrysochoidis eventually called.
Zavoloka then showed a straight with 8♦7♣. and that beat the 10♥5♥ of Chrysochoidis, who ended in 12th.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
2,400,000
400,000
|
400,000 |
|
Busted |
Level 21
: Blinds 10,000/20,000, 20,000 ante
Stefan Cupic shoved 130,000 from middle position and Ali Moein called from the cutoff.
Stefan Cupic: 6♥6♦
Ali Moein: A♦J♥
Cupic needed to win the flip to stay alive, but the A♠7♥8♦J♣4♣ runout saw Moein make two pair, which was enough to bring the field down to 12.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
1,100,000
240,000
|
240,000 |
|
Busted | |
|
||
Level 21
: Blinds 10,000/20,000, 20,000 ante
Stefan Cupic opened under the gun and then called the shove of Ali Moein, who moved all in for around 400,000 from the hijack.
Ali Moein: A♣J♦
Stefan Cupic: J♠J♥
Cupic had a great chance to send his stack back over a million, but the A♠2♠4♣2♥10♠ runout saw Moein spike an ace to double up.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
860,000
275,000
|
275,000 |
|
|
200,000
275,000
|
275,000 |
|
|
||
